New Mexico Wildlife magazine Conserving New Mexico's Wildlife for Future Generations

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Elk calf survival rates

Editions: Recent, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016, Wildlife & Habitat Conservation – #SaveOurSpecies

Shawn Carrell, Jemez conservation officer for the Department of Game and Fish, looks on after releasing a cow elk. The elk was fitted with a GPS collar and a vaginal implant transmitter. The transmitter is designed to be expelled during birth, allowing biologists to locate the calves quickly to affix radio tags. NMDGF photo by Nicole Quintana. Photo by Nicole Quintana, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF.

Wildlife management can be challenging, especially when research data has yet to be collected and a theory needs scientific support. While wildlife surveys can provide New Mexico Department of Game and Fish biologists with insight to population trends, they don’t provide answers when a decline is documented. So, when biologists …

Finding elk calves

Editions: Recent, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016, Wildlife & Habitat Conservation – #SaveOurSpecies

An elk calf lies still after researchers attached an ear transmitter. Calf survival has been low in the Mount Taylor area and researchers are trying to understand the reason. In the event of a death, researchers can respond to the scene quickly to identify the cause. Photo by Katelyn Shanor, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF.

As dawn broke over Chivato Mesa, a group of New Mexico Department of Game and Fish biologists, conservation officers and volunteers fanned out in search of calving elk. They climbed hilltops and used binoculars and spotting scopes to scan the vast meadows and clusters of scrub oak that dot the …

Positive forecast for elk

Editions: Recent, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016, Wildlife & Habitat Conservation – #SaveOurSpecies

Strong precipitation in the winter of 2014 and a good monsoon season last year helped produce an abundance of forage, which has been beneficial to the elk population and the overall health of herds around New Mexico. Photo by Dan Williams, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF.

When habitat conditions are strong, wildlife tend to flourish and the overriding factor is precipitation. Adequate rainfall and snow in 2014-15 produced an abundance of available forage, resulting in healthy elk herds throughout most of New Mexico. “We had a prolific monsoon season in 2015, which created an abundance of …

Dynamic hunter education camps

Editions: Recent, New Mexico Area Updates, Northwest, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016

Jeremy Lane, the Game and Fish Southwest Area public information officer, assists a young hunter education participant on the proper stance and handling of a shotgun prior to shooting it during a hunter education camp at Philmont Scout Ranch. Photo by Ross Morgan, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF.

Parents and youths are having fun learning at the new New Mexico Department of Game and Fish hunter education camps. These camps deviate from the more traditional classroom-heavy learning experience. Instead, the focus is more interactive for eligible youths 11 years of age and older. Any hunter in New Mexico …

Thriving in Rio Grande Gorge

Editions: Recent, New Mexico Area Updates, Northeast, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016

ith exceptional vision and climbing ability, steep rocky terrain is the ideal habitat for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Since being introduced into the Rio Grande Gorge, bighorn sheep have adapted well and their population has grown from 48 to about 280. Photo by Dan Williams, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF.

Wildlife agencies across the nation have many success stories to share when it comes to restoring wildlife populations. Sometimes the wildlife get much of the credit. That’s been the case in the Rio Grande Gorge, where a few dozen Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep released in 2006-2007 have multiplied to a …

Coming full circle

Editions: Recent, New Mexico Area Updates, Southwest, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016

Nathan Kempton (right), the son of Game and Fish Conservation Officer Brandon Kempton (center) poses with the 7x7 elk he harvested in 2015. Brandon and fellow Conservation Officer Adan Jacquez noticed an ear tag on the elk and it turned out to be the same animal that had been freed from beneath a cattle guard three years earlier.

Wildlife has no better ally than a conservation officer. The name alone, “conservation,” suggests their duties involve the protection of wildlife for future generations. Whether they are combating poaching, conducting population surveys, assisting in habitat projects, participating in relocation efforts or con-ducting classroom education, it all points to protecting and …

It’s a trophy

Editions: Recent, Recreational Opportunities, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016

Game and Fish biologist Eric Rominger takes elk antler measurements. While it was a large rack, the measurements came up short of the record book minimum. Photo by Martin Perea, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF.

Ask a hunter about the trophy mounted on the wall, sitting on a table or neatly placed in a cabinet, and a story will unfold — of outdoor experiences, an important hunt and deeply held values. The term “trophy” generally refers to a large game animal that has been mounted, …

Geese numbers dangerously high

Editions: Recent, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016, Wildlife & Habitat Conservation – #SaveOurSpecies

Habitat and birds suffer as light geese numbers rise. Photo by Dan Williams, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF

Mid-continent populations of light geese are currently at levels never before recorded. They have surpassed critical mass and efforts to stem their growth over the last 20 years has been ineffective. “It’s a difficult concept to explain,” said Casey Cardinal, turkey and upland game biologist with the New Mexico Department …

Control of feral hogs

Editions: Recent, New Mexico Area Updates, Southeast, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016

Feral hogs destroy wildlife habitat. Laws now exist that prohibit the importation of feral hogs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services is in the midst of a five-year project to lethally remove the animals from New Mexico. The effort will end in September 2017, but additional funding has been requested. Photo courtesy Wildlife Services.

Laws and additional control measures appear to have been effective in putting feral hog concerns to rest in New Mexico. At least for the moment. “I think we’ll always have to stay on top of it,” said Ryan McBee, regional wildlife biologist in Roswell. “They are a prolific-breeding invasive species. …

Driving: protect yourself & wildlife

Editions: Recent, Vol 59 #3 - Fall / Winter 2016, Wildlife Conservation Education

Wildlife in the roadways can be dangerous for those in a vehicle as well as the animal. Even smaller animals, such as cottontails and jackrabbits, can prove to be hazardous as motorists break or swerve in an effort to avoid a collision. Photo by Zen Mocarski, New Mexico Wildlife magazine, NMDGF

As the colors change and the temperature’s drop, hikers and wildlife enthusiasts are spending time outdoors and hunters are getting gear ready for time in the field. All are signs of fall, which also means the days are getting shorter and more vehicles will be on the road at times …

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